


home is a four letter word (that i never learned to say)

by thilesluna



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: But only a little, FINALE SPOILERS??, Family Feels, Found Family, Gen, Taako is afraid of how much he loves the boy, and when everyone is happy, duh - Freeform, everyone loves angus, it's basically set after the finale is over, like nothing too explicit or anything, mentions of neglectful parents, mentions of the boy wonder getting hurt, spoiler alert: i am everyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 16:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11718138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thilesluna/pseuds/thilesluna
Summary: Griffin threw in a one liner about Magnus and Angus with a dog and then I wrote 7,300 words about how much everyone on the moon loves Angus and wants him to stay.





	home is a four letter word (that i never learned to say)

The Voidfishes’ lights go out into the world and the entire world _remembers_.

 

\------

 

One of the nice things about working for a shadowy organization on the moon—besides the cool mysteries and neat magic, of course—is that, if you’re a boy like Angus, you have a lot of freedom. It’s freedom in a different way than he used to. It’s freedom that comes along with a whole moon base of people asking you about your day and what you’re working on. And, if maybe you’re kind of happier not having to be at your old home, you can always have a big ol’ jellyfish erase you from the minds of anyone who didn’t drink it’s ichor.

 

(He puts in his information after Magnus and Jess fight for the title belt, a few days after he turns eleven because there was a man at the fight who knew him and questioned him and was too _close_ to asking the real questions about where Angus had been and what he had been doing. He doesn’t tell anyone when he does)

 

Angus McDonald, as he existed before, does not exist any more.

 

\-------

 

The world doesn’t end.

 

In fact, in the wake of the attack by the Hunger and the spread of the Voidfishes’ lights the world doesn’t just survive, it _thrives_.

 

The story of the Stolen Century and the selfless seven who fought for a hundred years against the end of existence brings people together. It unites them in a way that they weren’t even before the relics and the wars took place. People show kindness more often. They show compassion and love and that same selflessness that they saw in the crew of the Star Blaster. They build a statue of Johann in the middle of Neverwinter and it becomes one of Angus’s favorite places to visit.

 

A month after they save the world, he takes a trip back to Neverwinter and what he sees is _amazing_. He watches the whole city work together to rebuild. He walks through the streets still riddled with rubble and he witnesses things he didn’t see before the not-end of the world. Everything is so _bright_ and different and _good_ that he can’t help but smile to himself as journeys.

 

He comes to a crosswalk and his eye catches something on the side of the building.

 

Ever since the Hunger landed, people have been putting up flyers in a desperate attempt to find missing loved ones. He marvels at their hope even in the face of the destruction they all witnessed and often takes notes to see what he can do to help.

 

(There are too _many_ for him to set up case files and work them all as much as he wants to. His specialty was always missing creatures cases and he thinks, as he furiously scribbles down notes in a book gifted to him by Lucretia, that maybe if he helps find a _few_ it will make a difference)

 

This time however, he’s surprised to see his own face, though a year or so younger, staring back at him.

 

“Oh,” he says softly, not even garnering a look from the elf standing next to him.

 

He reaches up and plucks the paper from the wall, reading over the details of it carefully. It has his name, his birthday, his place of birth and a very brief description of who he is. It’s strange to see all of that information scrawled on a flyer when the last time he saw it collected in such a way was right before he fed his memory to the Voidfish. Angus swallows thickly and looks from side to side to see if anyone will notice him shove the paper into his pocket but with the elf gone, there’s no one left on the street to see.

 

The ride back to the moon is longer than he remembers it being.

 

\----------

 

Angus waits a few days before bringing it up. He folds and unfolds the flyer with his face and goes back and forth between telling and not telling because the thing is, he doesn’t _want_ to go home.

 

His parents are nice and he loves them as much as a child should but for all of his life, they have just _existed_ in his vicinity. They’re not _bad_ just not really _there._ Angus has mostly been on his own since his 8 th birthday when he was gifted a stone of far speech and the instruction, “Only use it in emergencies, Angus.”

 

The stone never got much use.

 

Don’t get him wrong, he’s very grateful for the opportunities they gave him, but there’s a difference between getting a birthday present and being handed money to buy your own because your father didn’t care enough to but it himself. The guilt Angus feels for even thinking this was is enormous.

 

He remembers now. He remembers the fighting over the relics and the reason Lucretia set out to gather them back to her. He remembers that there are orphanages _full_ of children who will never see their parents again and here he is avoiding going back to the warm and safe home he’s been blessed with.

 

In the end, it’s the guilt—of having a home and lying to his parents and being a _burden_ to the other Bureau of Balance members—that decides for him.

 

He tells them at dinner.

 

The moon base needs a lot of repairs if it’s ever going to get back to it’s full potential but with all of the crew with their memories back and Lucas lending a hand, it’s coming a long very nicely. Taako insists that they eat dinner all together because “I didn’t get these memories back for _nothing_ , hombres” and Angus knows that all of them love the routine of it which makes him feel kind of bad for bringing it up now. They’ve all been so busy lately though, that it’s the only place he can think to tell them.

 

They’ve tucked into a recipe that Taako remembered the other night—he’d sat upright in the middle of the common room and shouted “BOLOGNESE”, scaring Angus half to death and waking Merle from his nap—and Angus can feel the paper in his pocket wrinkle when he shifts in his seat. Magnus laughs and claps him on the back after a few minutes. “What’s up, Ango? You’re movin’ like you’ve got ants in your pants!”

 

Angus sighs and sets his fork down. The paper comes easily from his pocket but he doesn’t unfold it yet. Magnus takes in the serious look on his face and says, “You look like you’re about to serve me divorce papers, dude. What’s going on?” It gets the attention of the rest of the crew and Angus blushes under their gaze.

 

“Well I, uh, I guess I should start by apologizing because I never—I did something and never told anyone,” he says, “and it might have been a bad thing? Or at least a thing that you probably didn’t want me to do.” He looks to Lucretia when he says that and then ducks his head.

 

“What was it, Angus?” she asks gently, reaching across the table to rest a hand on his arm.

 

“Well it’s about the Voidfish and I—“

 

“Did ya pee in its tank?” Merle cuts in. “Because that’s messed up! People drink that!” Carey elbows the dwarf hard in the side. “What! What’d I do?”

 

“Go on, bubeleh,” Taako says.

 

“After we went to see Miss Jess,” Angus says after taking a deep breath. “I, um, took a bunch of information and fed it to the Voidfish.”

 

There’s a chorus of talking all at once, all of them asking “What?!” in different and varying levels of surprise.

 

It’s Davenport who cuts through the din and asks, “Angus, _what_ information did you feed the Voidfish?”

 

Angus tightens his hold on the paper in his lap, crinkling it some more. In lieu of an answer, he holds it out and turns his hand over, palm open. Taako grabs the flyer and opens it, almost immediately letting out a soft, “Oh, Agnes.”

 

He hangs his head again, not wanting to look at them and see their disappointed faces. “There were people asking too many questions about me and I didn’t want to jeopardize the mission or put anyone in danger so I wrote down all the important stuff— _my_ important stuff—and fed it to Fisher because I was _worried_ and—“ Magnus puts a finger under his chin and lifts his head so he has to look at them. He blinks a few times because his eyes are starting to sting.

 

“Angus we’re not—we’re not _mad_ ,” Lup says carefully. “It’s not—I mean ideally we would never have basically kidnapped an 11-year-old in the first place but we’re not mad at you, darling.” Her spectral doesn’t have eyes or a face but he can practically feel the reassuring waves floating off of her.

 

“I should have said something but I didn’t and I’m really sorry, Madame—uhm, Lucretia,” he blabbers on. “I erased myself like with the Rites of Remembrance except without the whole, uh, dying thing and I guess now that the Voidfish sang out to everyone, people remember me again.”

 

Taako is still staring at the paper, brows furrowed. He finally looks up and straight at Angus. “So what does this mean, my dude?”

 

Angus shrugs, trying desperately not to cry. He plays with the napkin in his lap, twisting the corners and tugging on the fabric. “I guess I have to find my parents? I guess I have to go home?” He doesn’t say that it’s been almost a year of thinking about the moon as his home and that even with the goofs and the teasing, he’s felt more loved here than he ever has before. He doesn’t say those things, but he thinks them. “They’re—they’re looking for me and it wouldn’t be right for me to just…not go back.”

 

“I guess not,” Magnus says sadly. He sounds like he doesn’t want Angus to leave just as much as the boy himself.

 

“Hey now,” Lup says, her voice loud. “Let’s not get too down about all of this now, huh? Let’s enjoy this dinner and our time and we’ll talk about what’s going to happen in the future when we get there.” Barry makes a noise of agreement but when Angus looks up he can see that the man is frowning and Lup is resting a spectral hand on his shoulder.

 

The dinner goes on and eventually the talk and laughter turn back up. When it’s all said and done and the dishes are cleared, Angus looks for the flyer again and can’t find it anywhere.

 

\-------

 

It takes him less time than he thought it would to pack up all his things. He’s got a big trunk and another medium-sized one stacked on top of it and then his backpack.

 

That’s it.

 

The walls of his room are bare and he briefly rubs at the holes left behind from the fantasy thumbtacks he used to hang up the charts and maps he used during his days as a Seeker. Angus feels kind of bad about the wall damage, but he’s always been very visual with his mystery solving and it was necessary to get the job done.

 

The last thing he’d taken down from his wall was the ticket stub from the show with Jess and Klarg and the Reclaimers. It was tucked carefully into one of his Caleb Cleveland books and packed into his trunk, wrapped in some of his clothes for extra protection. The room was truly empty and Angus blinks back tears as he sits on the edge of his stripped bed.

 

A knock on the door has him wiping at his face, swiping under his eyes to brush away any errant drops. He plasters on a smile and reaches for the doorknob, twisting it and swinging open the door. Magnus is standing there, his hand still outstretched but it drops to his side when he peeks into the room. “Packed already?” he asks. His eyes are red and puffy like he’s been crying and Angus feels awful.

 

His smile fades into something a little more real and a little more sad. “Wasn’t much to pack, sir!” he says, trying for his normal cheerful voice but feeling like he’s missed it by a country mile. Magnus rubs at the back of his neck and Angus can tell that there’s something that the man wants to say but he’s not sure if he wants to hear it. “Do you think you could help me bring these to the launch room?” he says instead, cutting Magnus off before he even has the chance.

 

Magnus sighs, a soft shuddering thing and Angus knows that he’s going to cry. If Magnus cries, he most certainly will too. But instead, Magnus lifts the large trunk over one burly shoulder and tucks the medium one under his opposite arm and carries them away without a word.

 

Angus thinks that’s somehow worse.

 

\-------

 

It isn’t _fair_ , Magnus thinks.

 

Angus leaves for home tomorrow and it’s not fair that he’s not staying with them. Where he _belongs_.

 

Magnus may be a bit of an emotional thinker and he might not be the best person to raise a kid but between the….hell, _ten_ of them, they’d be able to manage right? Taako can teach magic, Barry and Lup can teach science, Davenport and Avi can both teach math…or something? Lucretia’s a great writer and Magnus can do fantasy P.E. with Carey and Killian. Merle can…well, Merle’s the only one with real kids so like, he’s got to be qualified, right? They could totally do it!

 

But Angus—he’s got a _real_ family. He’s got parents that are looking for him and a house to go to where there probably isn’t a lot of swearing and fighting and insults and life-threatening danger. Angus deserves those things.

 

It’s _them—_ they’re the ones who don’t deserve Angus.

 

It doesn’t stop him from pouting the whole trip up to the cannonball chamber with Angus’s stuff. Avi sees him and immediately pulls out his flask to offer a drink when the trunks hit the floor. Magnus takes it and takes a short sip. “Hey, buddy,” Avi says, his voice stuck halfway between kind and sad.

 

“I couldn’t say anything,” Magnus sighs, sinking to sit on the larger trunk. “I can’t make him feel like he should have to choose. That’s his _family_ down there.” Avi nods and takes a sip from his flask.

 

Quiet falls over the room for a moment before Avi clears his throat. “You know you’re his family too.”

 

“We all are,” Magnus corrects. “And I know that, but they’re his _real_ family. They’ve probably been going crazy looking for him.”

 

“Now that they can remember him, I guess,” Avi adds. He sits next to Magnus on the trunk. “It’s kind of strange that he’d wipe himself from his family for the sake of a few people asking questions.”

  
Magnus doesn’t respond even though he’s been thinking the same thing since Angus first showed them the flyer. He remembers feeling like nothing could tear him from his parents when he was 11. He remembers laughing in the dual sunlight with his mother and reading from a big, dusty library book with his father. He’s not sure he would have ever given that up willingly. And Angus? He hasn’t mentioned his family since they were on the Rockport Limited over a year ago.

 

“Magnus?” Avi bumps his shoulder. “Magnus, he knows he can always come back here any time. He’s going to call at the very least. He loves you guys.”

 

“I know. I just—“ He doesn’t know to explain it to Avi. He doesn’t know how to say that seeing Angus and the sunshine and the dog in Paloma’s last prophecy made him feel something that he hadn’t felt since the last time he saw Julia alive at Raven’s Roost.

 

Hope? Love? Maybe some crazy amalgamation of the two, a tangle of both that made him long for the future to come sooner.

 

He doesn’t know how to tell Avi that he sees that future slipping away and can’t think of a way to stop it.

 

\--------

 

“Taako, darling,” Kravitz says carefully. “Are you alright?”

 

Taako looks up from where he’s forcefully grinding some random shit with a mortar and pestle with a frown. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

 

“You’ve been grinding that for about 15 minutes and I don’t know if you can get whatever it is past the _atom_ stage, dear.” Kravitz wraps his arms over Taako’s and takes the tool from his hands. Taako’s hands feel tight and he nearly sighs when Kravitz sets the pestle aside and massages his palms with cool fingers. “Angus?” he asks, though he already knows the answer.

 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Taako says, brushing Kravitz off and pushing away from the counter. He walks—he doesn’t _stomp_ like a toddler, thank you—over to the couch, throwing himself down onto the cushions dramatically.

 

“Taako,” Kravitz tries.

 

“Taako’s good out here,” he replies and then thinks about it and rolls his eyes at Kravitz’s raised eyebrows. “Emotionally speaking.” Kravitz crosses the room and sits down next to Taako, pulling his legs onto his lap. Taako groans. “Stop being so sweet and caring you fucking jackass. Let me deal with this the Taako way.”

 

“So not at all?”

 

“I hate you,” Taako grumbles, belying his statement by moving to literally drape himself over Kravitz’s side.

 

Kravitz chuckles, a warm sound that rumbles deep from his chest. “Liar.”

 

“It’s part of my charm,” Taako responds.

 

“Well you don’t have to charm me anymore. You’ve already lured me in and trapped me for good.” Kravitz presses a kiss into Taako’s hair and the elf sighs heavily.

 

“Stop it, bonehead,” he says quietly, all the fight gone.

 

“I will when you _talk to me_.”

 

Taako falters because this is _real_ stuff and he’s never—he’s not _good_ at that sort of thing. “So what if the little jerk is leaving?” he lands on finally. “He’s got a family to go back to and that’s fine with me. Taking in a kid is too much work as it is, even a pretty self-sufficient one like him.” He picks at an errant thread from his sweater. “Besides, imagine me at a PTA meeting? That would be the fuckin’ day, my dude.”

 

“You’d sure as hell kick ass at the bake sale,” Kravitz murmurs, pinching at Taako’s side. The elf squirms and smacks him.

 

“That’s a fucking given,” he laughs, tapping his fingers on Kravitz’s chest. “I could beat Karen’s brownies with my hands tied behind my back, kemosabe.”

 

“But?”

 

Taako groans again. “Jeezy creezy dude, can’t you just let an elf live?”

 

“Buuut?”

 

“But Angus doesn’t want me to go to his PTA meetings, obviously!” Taako spits, sitting up and away from Kravitz. “He clearly wants to go back to his real parents and their real life! He’s done with us. He’s moving on.”

 

Kravitz pulls at Taako’s arm gently and the wizard sighs and slumps back down. “You know I love you right?” Taako nods. “Good, I needed to make sure before I said this: you’re being a fucking _idiot_ ,” Kravitz says firmly. Taako moves to protest but Kravitz puts chill fingers to his lips and pinches them shut. “That boy has done nothing but _love_ you since the day you all met. He’s got goddamned stars in his eyes every time he looks at you and you don’t even notice!”

 

“Krav—“

 

“And despite his obviously poor judge in character,” he soldiers on with a smile, “he’s a _great_ kid and a good person. You think he’s going to leave the moon and forget about _Taako_? From TV? I don’t fucking think so.”

 

“Ugh. Why are you always like this?” Taako demands without much fire.

 

“What, right?”

 

“No, disgustingly optimistic.” The two of them tangle together on the couch and Taako presses a kiss to Kravitz’s cheek. “You’d think being _death_ and all, that you’d have a bleaker outlook on life.”

 

“Someone has to be positive with all grumpiness and pessimism coming from you, dearest,” Kravitz says laughing. He tips Taako’s head back and studies his face seriously after a moment. “Have you _talked_ to Angus?”

 

Taako closes his eyes and turns his face away. “I’m afraid of what he’ll say. Or that he’ll stay here with us just because I asked and he doesn’t want to disappoint. He’s got no self-preservation skills, that one. No matter what I teach him, I can’t get that through his thick skull.” There are nights where Taako sees Angus smacked across the room by the big hand and sometimes he dreams that the broken ribs the boy got in the final battle were worse and that the healing didn’t come quick enough. It _terrifies_ him to care so much for someone else, especially someone so _breakable_. “It’s not my choice to make, as much as I want it to be,” he says softly.

 

Kravitz sighs and shakes his head. “It’s not a choice at all if no one gives the boy another option though, is it?”

 

And that, Taako doesn’t know how to answer.

 

\---------

 

Merle is the one, strangely enough, who volunteers to escort Angus to the surface. He’s been feigning disinterest in the whole thing since the dinner with the flyer but it’s getting harder and harder to pretend he doesn’t care about the little shit.

 

There’s a long and tearful (Magnus, mostly) goodbye in the hanger for the cannonballs and Angus hugs them all and promises to call or write. Merle mostly just hangs back because he’s taking the squirt down to the small town outside of Rockport that Angus calls home and he doesn’t want to crowd any of the people who are actually sad about the kid leaving.

 

( _He’s_ not sad by the way. Just in case you were wondering.)

 

The cannonball is loaded with Angus’s chests and Merle sits in the driver’s seat watching the goodbyes through the outer wall. He blames his age for the way he feels an almost soft fondness for the boy detective, even with all the shit he gives him. Maybe it’s his age or maybe the reconnection with his own kids because Angus is like Mavis in so many ways. They’re both smart as a whip and love books and all that crap and sometimes Merle wonders how Angus got to the point that he’s at now. For all that he and Mavis are alike, for all the shared books and way they excel—both of them so, so smart—what was it that had Angus making the switch from bright, young kid to lonely boy detective? Merle thinks about it more than he cares to admit honestly.

 

Angus clambers into the cannonball and turns to give one last melancholy wave. Merle can see Magnus sobbing, supported by Killian who’s also got her arm wrapped around Carey. Taako has his arms crossed on his chest and a carefully schooled expression that Merle can pick apart from the long years they’ve been traveling together. Taako’s mad and hurt and a little bit scared. Merle can see it in the way his brow is furrowed just a little and in the tightness of his jaw.

 

“All set?” Merle asks and Angus nods quickly, tearing his eyes away from everyone. Merle throws Avi a wooden thumbs-up and they’re dropped into the darkness of the cannon.

 

He doesn’t say anything when Angus grips his hand tightly.

 

\----------

 

Lup and Barry have been gone for a little over a week by the time they return to the moon base. She insisted on going with him to retrieve the revivification pod from his cave lair—“It’s nice to see that my flair for the dramatic really did rub off on you after all those years,” she’d said a spectral hand brushing along the pink in his cheeks—and he hadn’t fought her on it, just happy to be with her again after all their long, long time apart. It’s been a few months and yet the novelty of seeing her—and if she’s being super honest, she feels the same way—every single day has yet to wear off. Lup thinks it’s cute, even when Taako makes gagging noises at them over dinner.

 

When they return, they’re surprised that no one besides Avi—he’s _always_ at the cannon and Lup thinks they’re going to have to have a chat about taking some well-deserved time off—meets them there. In fact, when she floats over to him (she can _not_ wait for her body to regrow in Garfield’s stupid pod—though it presents its own specific troubles considering she’s using Taako’s blood and hair instead of her own but if she can go through that once in her life, she can make it through a second time—so she doesn’t have to be all spectral anymore) she can see that his work station is cluttered with tissues and his eyes are red.

 

“Avi, pumpkin, what’s wrong?” she asks and he gives her a sad smile.

 

“Angus left this morning,” he says, scrubbing at his eyes. “I thought I was okay but it’s been rough.”

 

Barry wanders over and tilts his head to the side. “What do you mean ‘left’? Like on a visit to Neverwinter?”

 

“Not really,” Avi replies. “I mean like, he’s gone back to the planet to live with his family.”

 

Lup’s non-blood runs cold. “He _what_?”

 

Avi actually shrinks back from her when her form starts to crackle with energy. “I, uh, I mean, he left? He went back to live with his parents? I don’t know how else to say it.”

 

Lup turns and floats swiftly from the room, Barry and Avi hot on her heels. Barry starts to ask but a crackle of red energy bursts from her body and strikes the wall and she can practically hear his mouth snap shut. She leads them to the kitchen, where she knows Taako will be and is actually unsurprised to find the rest of the Bureau leftovers there as well.

 

“You motherfuckers have some explaining to do,” she growls and all six heads whip to face her. Lup notices that Merle is missing but she’ll get back to that. “Where is my boy detective?”

 

Taako is the first to look away. He lowers his head and goes back to mixing a batter that Lup can see is Angus’s favorite type of cookie. _Predictable. Sad but predictable,_ she thinks.

 

Lucretia answers. “I’m sorry Lup. He wanted to wait for you to get back but he didn’t want to keep his parents waiting.”

 

“He went back planet side. For good,” Magnus says, sniffling.

 

Lup’s form crackles again and Barry steps into her line of sight. “Lup, sweetie—“

 

“Don’t you ‘sweetie’ me, _Barold_ ,” she says. Then she turns to Team Sweet Flipz and Davenport, waving a hand at the other three. “I expected this shit from these idiots with their constant guilt and emotional constipation but _you_ should have been able to prevent this.”

 

“Hey—“ Lucretia starts but Lup holds up a hand that might be a little bit on fire.

 

She composes herself and the fire dies down. “You just _let him leave_?”

 

“What are we supposed to do, Lup?” Taako demands, throwing down his spoon. “Keep him here against his will? Kidnap a fucking 11-year old kid? I might be an asshole but I’m not gonna take a kid away from his family! That’s not _fair_.” He doesn’t have the light and airy tone that he normally does and for the first time, Lup really gets what Angus means to him.

 

“Oh, Taako,” she says and everyone is looking at him. He casts Blink and disappears. Lup sighs heavily and follows him into the ethereal plane.

 

\---------

 

It takes them a long time to come back out, Magnus thinks. He knows that Blink is a relatively safe spell, especially now that the Hunger is well and truly gone, but he still worries. Barry plays catch up with everything that happened and spends a lot of time frowning and thinking. But then again, that’s always kind of been his thing.

 

When Taako and Lup do come out, Taako is wiping at his eyes and Lup has a spectral hand on his shoulder. Taako glares at the rest of them and says, “Take a fuckin’ picture, assholes.”

 

“We’re going to fix this,” Lup says, calmly. “I’m taking Magnus and Taako and we’re going to grab Merle and Angus and we’ll be right back, okay?”

 

“Lup,” Barry says, “You can’t just—“

 

“How many times did Angus talk to any of you about his family?” Lup asks, her voice harsh.

 

“He mentioned his grandfather on the train,” Magnus says and then looks like he’s thinking hard. “I’m not sure—“

 

“I never heard anything about them,” Carey adds. “And I asked about it once or twice. Angus just always laughed it off or changed the subject.”

 

Lucretia shakes her head. “But I had his file. He _has_ a family, Lup. We can’t take a child and force him to join us just because—because we don’t want him to leave.”

 

“There’s more than one type of family,” Taako says quietly and then, “We’re a family. A family of dumbasses but a family nonetheless.”

 

“But—“ Magnus starts.

 

Killian interrupts him, her voice strong. “The family I’ve got here is like a billion times better than the one I left.” She looks at Carey and Noelle and then lets her gaze fall to each of the remaining people in the room. “Some of you I haven’t known that long but we saved the world together and honestly, you’ve treated me better than any of the family I used to have did.”

 

“You don’t think—“ Davenport says and Magnus feels a surge of anger at what Davenport is suggesting.

 

Lup turns to him. “I don’t know,” she responds. “I don’t know what his family is like but I know that I’d never let that little shit go out and catch serial killers or join secret organizations. I barely like it when he goes down to Neverwinter alone. How long was he here before the whole wrestling debacle? If that’s when he fed his information to Fisher, then how come there were no missing person flyers before then? How come no one was looking for him besides people who wanted to hire him? If he’s got a family, they don’t—“ she stops for a second, picking out her words carefully. “If he’s got one, they can’t _possibly_ love him as much as we do.”

 

\---------

 

It should have been pretty easy to get Angus back to his childhood home but Merle insists that they go out to lunch first. An apology of sorts, he says, for all the goofs and kind of mean things he’s said over their time together. Angus shrugs and agrees and does a pretty good job of hiding how excited he is at the prospect.

 

Despite the goofs and the teasing, Angus knows that Merle really does like him. If he lets Angus hang out with his kids, he _must_ right? And Angus is very appreciative of it. There are no other kids on the moon so to be able to see and spend time with Mavis and Mookie—even though Mookie sometimes tackles him and knocks his glasses off—is a real treat. He wonders if he’ll still be able to visit them and decides to ask Merle if he’ll let him know when they’re doing visits.

 

The thought of going back to the very lonely life of before the Bureau of Balance makes Angus’s stomach feel like it’s twisted up in knots.

 

They finish lunch and he starts down the street in the direction he knows will lead him to an empty house—it’s the middle of the day so no one will be home—when Merle awkwardly clears his throat and Angus stops in his tracks. “I uh, I was wondering if you could help a dwarf out,” Merle says.

 

Angus lives to be helpful. Almost nothing makes him feel better—he doesn’t think about the times he’s felt really, truly happy with the rest of the Bureau leftovers surrounding a large dinner table and just being _together_ —than helping people. “Of course, sir! What can I do?”

 

Now Angus’s insight is pretty darn high and Merle is a notoriously awful liar so the boy sees almost immediately through what comes next. “It’s—um, Mavis’s birthday is coming up in a week or a month, I think. I’m not so good at getting gifts for her but I think you could help me. You both’re into those Casey Campbell books, right?”

 

“Caleb Cleveland,” Angus corrects.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Those ones,” Merle goes on. “Listen, kid, I’m still getting a hang of this dad thing and you’re basically like a man on the inside, ya know? Just, c’mon with me to this bookstore for a few minutes. It’s the least you could do since I’m playing kid delivery service today.”

 

Angus hides a smile behind his hand but nods and the two turn in the opposite direction, heading further away from his parent’s house.

 

\-------

 

The trip to the bookstore is a success. Angus picks out a book he’s sure Mavis would like and pretends not to notice Merle getting a second copy of it giftwrapped and sneaking it into Angus’s backpack.

 

(The wooden arm is kind of a pain in the ass for slight of hand, Angus imagines.)

 

It takes about an hour and in that time, Angus almost forgets why they’re on the planet. For a while, he just feels like it’s another short trip and that they’ll be returning to the moon base soon. When they get outside and he sees the wagon they’d hired to carry his bags, the smile falls from his face.

 

Merle notices—he’s getting _so_ much better at the ‘dad’ thing, Angus thinks a little wistfully—and claps a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “What’s up kid?”

 

Angus does his best to give a smile but it definitely comes out a little forced. “Nothing sir! Just—this has been a really nice day.” He adjusts the straps on his backpack, pulling it a little tighter just so he has something to do with his hands. Merle clears his throat and Angus meets his eyes again.

 

“Yeah, it was a good day, kid.” His voice is gruff but he squeezes Angus’s shoulder in a surprisingly reassuring way. “You ready to go home?”

 

\----------

 

_There’s a knock on his door and Angus scrambles out of bed to answer, tipping a large heavy book from his lap. He’s surprised to see Taako on the other side and does a bad job hiding it. “Sir?”_

_“You’re late,” he says and turns on his heel to walk away, robe billowing behind him._

_“Late for what?” Angus asks, grabbing his hat and his notebook from where they’re stashed by the door._

_Taako doesn’t turn but Angus can practically hear the smug look on his face when he says, “Magic lessons, my dude.”_

_\---------_

_Angus picks himself up off the floor and brushes the dirt from his previously pressed shorts. “I can go again, ma’am.”_

_Carey gives Killian a look but they’re both overruled by Noelle. “Come get a drink first, darlin’,” she says. “Then you can go back to fight practice.”_

_“It’s not fight practice,” Carey complains. “It’s_ rogue _practice. There’s a difference.”_

_Killian laughs and presses a kiss to Carey’s forehead. “Sure there is, babe.” Angus grabs his water skin and watches their bickering turn into good-natured wrestling and laughs along with Noelle._

_\--------_

_“See? It’s not so hard!” Avi says happily as he watches Angus launch an empty cannonball from the moon base._

_“Yeah but what about when there’s people in it,” Angus says. He’s watching the ball get smaller and smaller. “What if I mess up and I send someone into…into a volcano or something?”_

_Avi laughs and claps Angus on the back. “You’re like the smartest person I know! That’s never going to happen, little man.” Angus grins up at him. “Now, lets see if we can trick one of the new recruits into going for a ride.”_

_\-------_

_“Wow, that’s amazing, ma’am!” Angus watches The Director’s hands flying over both her notebooks with rapt attention. “Is that something people can learn?”_

_The Director lets out a rare laugh and sets down one of her pens to pat Angus on the head. “I’m sure over time someone could learn to write with two hands at once, but it’s the mental training that’s the really hard part.”_

_Angus frowns. “Am I smart enough to do something like that?”_

_Davenport tugs on his sleeve and gives him a look that almost says, ‘of course you are, dummy’ but what comes out is just, “Davenport!”_

_“It’s not about being smart, Angus,” the Director says with a chuckle. “It’s about being able to split yourself up. It’s kind of like having two parts of your brain going at once.”_

_“Will you teach me?”_

_The Director smiles and Angus can nearly feel the warmth of it. “I can sure as hell try.”_

_\--------_

_Magnus, for once, is not making a duck. He’s sitting in Angus’s room and he’s working with big wood pieces and Angus has no idea what he’s building. “Sir, what—“_

_“Shhh, Ango. You’ll ruin the surprise!” Magnus scolds. Angus starts to ask another question when his stomach growls loudly. He hasn’t eaten since breakfast, too wrapped up in his research to go and get lunch or dinner. Magnus had burst into his room about 40 minutes ago and interrupted. Magnus hears the sound and raises an eyebrow._

_Angus blushes under the look, not used to people caring about his eating habits. “I’ll go get some food?”_

_Magnus laughs and says, “Go see Taako. He’ll make you something.”_

_When Angus returns two hours later, full close to bursting, Magnus is gone but there’s sawdust on the floor and one of the most beautiful rocking chairs Angus has ever seen with all his research books piled on it._

_\--------_

_Mavis and Mookie wave goodbye as they head back to the ferry to take them home. Merle and Angus wave back and then turn to catch a cannonball back to the moon. “Thank you, sir,” Angus says suddenly._

_Merle turns to look at him. “For what, kid?”_

_“For letting me spend time with you and your kids. And for not beaning me with your wrench,” Angus replies._

_Merle laughs at that but doesn’t say anything, only throws an arm over Angus’s shoulder. The rest of the walk back to the cannonball is quiet but the warmth of Merle at his side makes Angus wish it would take longer._

_\--------_

_The battle that rages around them is fierce and scary and Angus is so very, very lost. He shoots Magic Missiles in every direction but they don’t seem to be doing too much against the shadows closing in on him. He can see a couple of Tom Bodett’s taking a large, robot shaped black mass but even if he were to call out for help, he’s not sure if anyone would hear him._

_Another volley of Magic Missiles followed by a Thunderwave and Angus tries again to fight his way out but there are too_ many _and pain blossoms across his chest as he catches the errant claws of a tall shadow and goes flying. He drops his wand and this is it, he thinks but then—_

_Light. Warmth. It feels like the sun surrounds him and it’s just like it was on the moon base._

_Lup._

_She and Barry come_ crashing _through the crowds of shadows and suddenly Angus is off the ground and in Barry’s arms and he hears, “Do it, Lup” and the world explodes again and he’s safe._

_He’s home._

\--------

 

“You’re damn right he is, shortstack.”

 

Merle and Angus turn and see Lup floating between Magnus and Taako, both of whom look more than a little sheepish. Merle lets out a relieved sigh. “It’s about time you guys got here,” he says.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Magnus asks. He frowns at Merle and Lup covers where her mouth would be to stifle a laugh.

 

“Yeah, you’re the one who volunteered to bring the little dude down here and now you’re going to pretend you were waiting for us to change our minds?” Taako demands, a little incredulously.

 

“Haven’t dropped him off yet, have I?” Merle says, waving in the direction of the wagon.

 

“Oh fuck off, there’s no way you planned this,” Taako responds and now Lup is all out laughing.

 

“Sirs?” Angus says quietly, his mind racing. Why are they here and what the heck are they talking about? “What’s going on?”

 

“If you idiots didn’t come down here I woulda just brought him back with me,” Merle says.

 

Magnus laughs and his eyes are shining. “Buuuuullshit, old man.”

 

“What! I would!” Merle protests.

 

Lup breaks up the argument with snap of her spectral fingers—which, how do they make a noise if…never mind, it’s a mystery for another day, Angus thinks. “Now boys, lets not lose sight of the main objective here, hmm?” She points at Angus who continues to stare.

 

“Me?” he asks, wringing his hands together nervously. “Whatever I did, I promise I didn’t mean to,” he says. “I don’t _think_ I took anything I wasn’t supposed to and I—“

 

“Angus, pumpkin,” Taako says, stepping closer. “You didn’t do anything wrong. We did and we’re sorry.”

 

Angus wracks his brain but he can’t even remember the last time they pulled a goof on him—Lup is very anti-Angus goofing. She says it’s not fair to goof on someone who’s too nice to do it back (it hadn’t stopped her from helping him pull pranks on the boys though). “Sorry for what?”

 

Magnus rushes forward like he can’t hold himself back anymore and scoops Angus into a huge hug. “For almost letting you go,” he whispers. Angus freezes for a second and then he’s throwing his arms around Magnus and returning the hug.

 

“Angus,” Lup says, as they separate. “This is really important, okay? I need you to be super truthful and honest with us.”

 

There’s a beat and then Taako says, “Do you want to stay with us? All of us?”

 

Angus can’t meet their eyes so he wiggles out of Magnus’s arms and stares down at his shoes. He thinks about the day Carey took him shopping to get new ones because his old ones were getting too small. He thinks about how his parents never took him shopping, just handed him some money and sent him out by himself. The shoes go blurry and a tear drops from behind his glasses. “I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to. I have parents and so many other kids don’t and wouldn’t it be selfish of me to not go back? I shouldn’t get to have two families when some people have none.”

 

Lup sighs and mutters out a curse. “I wish I had a body right now because I would really fucking love to hug you, Angus.”

 

Merle chimes in, his voice the most sincere Angus has ever heard, “Of course you’re allowed to stay with us, kid! You saved the world. You saved our bacon more than once too! We’d be idiots to let you go.”

 

“It’s your choice, Ango,” Magnus says, gathering him into his arms again. “But if you want to stay with us, we’d be so fucking happy.”

 

Angus lets out a watery laugh from where he’s got his face buried in Magnus’s neck. “I’d be really happy too, sir.” He peeks out at the other three and smiles. “Can we go home now?”

**Author's Note:**

> guys the finale is gonna happen soon and i'm 1,000% not ready. i will be fighting Griffin McElroy if something happens to Angus though. That's a dang-diddly FACT. 
> 
> find me on tumblr @geargieee


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